With the launch of luxury floral show business Fleurs de Villes in 2015, floral couture has been enjoyed by the masses around the world. Celebrating the talents of local florists in each city the shows pop up in, the Fleurs de Villes “Mannequin Series” invites each participating florist to dress a mannequin in nothing but fresh flowers and materials.
The level of design, detail and couture interpretation in the shows is something that would normally be part of a private or special closed event. Fleurs de Villes changes all that and brings flowers to the people by popping up for free in public spaces for everyone to enjoy.
Here are highlights from recent shows.The Northwest Flower and Garden Festival was a feast for the eyes featuring so many dazzling dresses. Fena Flowers used such a level of detail in designing its dress. It was hard to take one’s eyes off the woven sleeves or the trim and ruffle, let alone the collar shawl and handbag. Tobey Nelson’s go-go boots and fishnet stockings were a grand display of floral interpretation, as were so many others (check out @fleursdevilles on Instagram for lots more!).
In Toronto, Fresh Floral Creations’ Bruno Duarte stunned with two designs using pussy willows and peonies in refreshingly avant-garde looks. Joezel Yumul, CA FA, CIFD, WPICC, of DT Floral + Decor, created an intricate and bizarre dress inspired by a garment created by Polish fashion designer Paulina Bojor. Sveta Shvedenkova, CAFA, of Crow in White, stunned everyone with her dress of layered leaves with so much texture and detail as well as a fun pair of floral boots.
In New York City, at Hudson Yards, Fleurs NYC created a bridal gown that everyone went nuts for. It was so elegant in its simplicity. The Covent Garden show in London, England, stunned with a floral rendering by Amie Bone of Queen Elizabeth I (“The Ditchley Portrait” by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger from the National Portrait Gallery).
Just a few steps away, Stock Florist’s “Taittinger Champagne Party Girl” was a crowd favorite, Her choker, bodice and headpiece all came together so incredibly beautifully White Lilac created a standout design at the show in Costa Mesa, Calif., based on a famous dress designed by Alexander McQueen for his 2007 Spring/Summer fashion show.
Last summer, Arbutus Florist’s talented Vivian Liu created an amazing all-white floral dress by blending two Versace dresses into one at the Diner En Blanc event in Vancouver, Canada. Her use of dried and fresh allowed for the painstaking detail that took dozens of hours to create.At the same event, Vancouver floral artist Brenna Quan, AIFD, designed a Lunar New Year-themed garment, which incorporated wrapped ti leaves to create an embroidery-type effect.
In an ever-changing world, dates for Fleurs de Villes upcoming shows are most up to date on their website, fleursdevilles.com.
